Is Your Food Gluttony Free?
Author: Department of Health & Human Services
Date: February 25, 2016
Place of Publication: not provided
This advertisement is a photo of French fries being substituted for cigarettes in a Marlboro packet. In the very center of the pack is a logo of McDonalds showing that the French fries are from McDonalds. This picture has a bigger picture (hahahaha funny). The bigger picture is stated on the image itself and it says, "The obesity death rate is overtaking cigarette smoking." The author uses the French fries as a substitute for cigarettes to show that both of them have harmful consequences that can lead to death. Also, the author uses a Marlboro cigarette box with revised designs such as the word "French Fries" and the McDonalds logo to show the similarity in the two. When looking at this advertisement, I thought that the dark background color of black and dark grey represented death. The advertisement is trying to reach out to people of America to inform them that the obesity death rate is increasing drastically, about to pass cigarette deaths. It puts questions into the readers' heads about what they are eating and if it is the right choice. One could argue that it is reaching out to people from as young as teenagers to elders because they must know what smoking is and the consequences that come from it. In the end, it is no good to eat a lot of junk food.
This blog post analyzes this image very well. French fries are just as bad as cigarettes and it's clearly shown in this image. I liked how you analyzed the background color of the advertisement and how it symbolized death. The writing below the pack of french fries gives more content to the image and shows how consuming junk food is as bad as smoking cigarettes. Overall, I liked how you analyzed this photo and how you used symbolism to examine the content.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post because you are talking about something that is used in every day life and Is really bad for people. This picture symbolizes french-fries for cigarettes making it seem like they are just as bad. I agree with what you said about the purpose of the post but I would have liked to see the connection it has to one of the deadly sins.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very cool post, and I like how the advertisement depicts French Fries as cigarettes, because even though one is considered "not bad", it can still have negative long term effects like cigarettes (albeit different effects). I like how you analyzed the background to symbolize death and darkness, and it really made me think about how artists and designers use different colors to make people think a certain way. Also, I like how you analyzed the target market that this ad is trying to reach, and overall, I agree.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post. I had never seen this ad before, but it is quite intriguing. Your analysis about the small details on the box and the colors of the ad brings up some points that I did not originally think about. I see where you are going with connecting to the deadly sin of gluttony (okay, I have to admit it, I found this pun a little funny), but I agree with Erin; your post would have been even stronger if you directly connected your analysis to gluttony. Maybe try including it after "...inform them that the obesity death rate is increasing drastically, about to pass cigarette deaths. It puts questions into the readers' heads about what they are eating and if it is the right choice" by talking about the prevalence of junk food in America. Overall nice job!
ReplyDeleteClassic Christian, doing an ad on French fries. I dont like the picture you used and how it compared french fires to cigs. That is gross. French fires are amazing and should always be cherish. CIgs are gross and smell like crap. Fries smell like heaven. The analysis was good but very disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the advertisement you chose, as it was meant to be more of a PSA, than a traditional commercial advertisement. I think you did a great job analyzing the imagery of the advertisement and how that connected to its larger message.
ReplyDeleteI agree with other commenters that you should have shown more of a direct link from the advertisement to gluttony. It would have been interesting to draw the link between gluttony and how the advertisement is trying to guilt or scare its viewers into healthier eating habits. I also found it interesting that the advertisement included the Mcdonald's logo, which creates tension towards that specific company.
Before reading your analysis, I found this to be an interesting advertisement and had the quick, initial thought that it compares the negatives of cigarettes to unhealthy food choices such as french fries. As you gave context and analyzed of the obesity death rate overtaking cigarette smoking, I was shocked but intrigued how this ad could emphasis this issue in a creative way. I liked how you transitioned from the color representing death to the connection that the intended audience is impacted to rethink, that being the main purpose to promote better eating habits/choices.
ReplyDeleteGreat ad- really a perfect choice for this prompt!
ReplyDeleteTry to do a really great "big 5" analysis first- that way your effects are strongly linked to what is "surface-level"